Jacqueline Rayner

That's right, the Thirteenth Doctor and the fam have ended up in the Land of Oz! Or some version of it, anyway.

I won't say this one is a huge standout among Doctor Who spinoff novels, but it's certainly entertaining enough. The Wizard of Oz elements combine in some fun ways with the Doctor Who elements, and there's some nice Classic Who continuity. (Enough so that people with a solid knowledge of old school Who can probably make a good guess as to which episode this romp in a fictional world is a sort of sequel to.) Aside from the fact that I have real trouble believing she's never read The Wizard of Oz, the Doctor's characterization feels very right, which is great. But her companions, for plot reasons, aren't really themselves for most of the story, which is too bad, as I'm someone for whom a lot of the appeal of these spinoff novels is seeing the author capture the characters' voices well. Also, I have to keep reminding myself that the modern-era Who novels are (reasonably enough) primarily aimed at children. I swear, every time I read one I experience a tiny surge of disappointment that the writing is simpler than that of the definitely-aimed-at-adults novels I remember from the 90s and early 2000s. But that's a me problem, and it didn't keep me from enjoying this.

It is pity about the giant spoiler on the front cover, but then it is the thing that got me interested in the book, so I guess I can't fault the marketing department too hard for it.… (meer)